What is Fairness & How do I find it?

Fairness:

  • Marked by impartiality and honesty. Free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism. Being fair to the evidence.

What might we mean by this definition: “Fair to the Evidence?” Using this definition, a journalist is being fair to whom?

Fair to the news consumer, or better yet: the facts. It would be balanced to always call the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan when writing a news story about lynchings in the mid-Century Southern U.S.? But would it be fair to the evidence to give equal space to their denials it ever happened?

So now you're probably wondering "How do I make sure that reports are fair?"

Start with the following:

  •  Fair Play 

  • Fair Language

  • Fair Presentation

In Fair Play, look for an obvious effort to include relevant perspectives through the inclusion of people, and organizations responding to negative charges.

Here's an example:

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When reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, some looters were called looters and others were not.

The nature of each description, presents the image to you in a strikingly different way. You wouldn’t notice it, probably, unless you were looking at multiple news outlets and they were taking different approaches to describing people who broke into stores and took supplies.    

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